Death
by Anne79
Summary: AU If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die. InuKag.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Inuyasha and unless I magically win the lottery, but I doubt I'll ever will.

**A/N:** Thanks to my brand new beta **Little R**. :D

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die._

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 1**

_Because I could not stop for Death,  
He kindly stopped for me;  
the carriage held but just ourselves  
And Immortality._

**Emily Dickinson**

* * *

"I never believed a person would die on me like this," he confessed, "let alone you." Kagome looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"You thought your sex-appeal would give us dying fellows the hope that, if we lived, then maybe one day, we could have the almighty Inuyasha Takahashi?" She whispered amused. "Oh Inuyasha!" She sighed. How he loved the way she said his name.

"Keh," he mumbled as he pulled his chair close to her. His heart was beating frantically in his chest knowing this would probably be his last chance to see her, touch her, talk to her.

"I would love to tell you that, if I had gone to Med-school, I would have chosen oncology as my field… but I don't know. I think I would have made an excellent researcher." She added with a smile, her lips suddenly trembled and she started coughing. He helped her sit straight while handing her a glass of water. She thanked him.

"I thought I would be different…" He said softly. _I thought you would be different._

"Even after I had my first patient die on me… I thought I could make a difference". She giggled. He looked at her, confused; this was not a moment for giggling.

"Inuyasha, when are you going to understand you are not God that can save us all?" She asked. "Yes, you may have lost a few. But if you were so kind to them, as you have been to me, then…" She stopped panting. He shouldn't be forcing this conversation. She was in bad shape.

"Maybe I should leave..." He muttered trying to stand up. As he moved, she gave him a stern glare and, without hesitation, he sat back down.

"Now, what I was trying to say, before I was rudely interrupted?" She added yet another cold stare. "If you were so kind to those you have lost as you have been to me, then you have made a difference". He thought she had finished after she drank a bit of water.

"But you are still going to die," It was the first time he accepted it out loud. Her eyes warmed up at his statement. She grabbed his hand with a weak grip. He intertwined their fingers, as he knew she didn't have the strength to do it herself. He brought his lips to her hand. He gave small butterfly kisses and brushed his cheeks to her soft skin. He closed his eyes trying to memorize her texture, her smell …

"Inuyasha…" His eyes snapped open when he heard pain in her voice. His heart skipped a beat out of fear. He stood up quickly, grabbed her chart, and read the information on the machines. He saw her shut her beautiful azure eyes in pain. "It hurts." She managed to say. He opened the cabinet and pulled out another dose of morphine. He connected it to the IV.

"Do you want to sleep?" He asked, trying to stop his voice from quivering. He knew if she had enough morphine in her system, she could easily go to sleep. And never wake up.

"No".

"Kagome, if you are in pain…"

"I want to stay awake," she said as she opened her eyes softly.

"Alright," he said. He sat, back into his usual chair. He resumed caressing her arm, her hand, her face. She sighed, contented.

"Could you lie next to me?" She asked. He complied.

It had been two months she had entered in his life. Such a different person laid in the bed now. She had entered in his office without previous appointment, her long black hair shining, falling wildly in her shoulders. Her eyes had been determined, without bags under them. Her skin had been pearly white, her cheeks rosy from the cold wind outside.

She had entered without permission, taking down the walls he constructed around his heart, brain, and soul like a hurricane. Never doing anything she didn't want. Not even when he had begged her to get a last dose of radiation, not when he had told her about the medical trials. She had laughed and told him she would rather die with two months of happy, energetic memories than to stay alive for two years plugged into machines.

Maybe it was because she had had no one else to live for. No husband, children, parents, or siblings. She had once mentioned a friend from college; but she had told him it had been too long for her to pretend that the friend would feel obligated to take care of her. She should have known she now had him.

She was only 23. She had confessed to him once, while under the influence of several narcotics, she had never been with a man who could make her feel as he did with a smile. He had turned tomato-red with her confession; his dog-like ears had started moving frantically. He had kissed her that night.

He had avoided her for a whole day after that. Ashamed at his behavior and knowing how many hospital rules –hell, his own personal rules- he had broken by kissing her. Then a nurse ran urgently past him yelling something about a code blue in the Higurashi room. He still didn't know how he had managed to traverse the whole wing, just to get to her room, in less than a minute.

There was no code blue. Kagome knowing he had been avoiding her –rather rudely, she added- had made a plot with Sango, one of the nurses. He had yelled at her using every curse word in the dictionary and threatened to stop treating her. All without noticing she had stood up. Careful not to disconnect the machines and tubes in her body, she was standing in front of him.

"Are you done?" She had asked. He knew one of her perfect eyebrows was rising behind her bangs. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent while closing his eyes, and nodded. _She was alright; there was no need to panic_. Then he felt her feather-like lips on his, and her tongue quickly demanded for entrance. His arms immediately brought her frail body near to his. Her arms captured his neck.

After that she had told him, this time without narcotics, she thought he was the most special person she had ever known. He, in return, had told her she was the craziest one. At this, she chuckled and so did he.

"Inuyasha?" He was brought to present himself by her voice.

"Are you ok?" He asked afraid. He felt her nod under his chin.

"You were quiet," she explained. "This is the first time you remained quiet for more than five minutes," she continued.

"You aren't exactly a chit-chat monkey either," he muttered as he placed a kiss on the top of her head. He breathed in her scent once more.

"I'm about to die, I have the right to remain quiet," she said as she chuckled. She coughed a couple of times, making her point.

"So to stay quiet, I have to die?" He wondered out loud. "Well who knows, maybe I'll be lucky and, on the way home, a truck will hit my car." He muttered bitterly. Why did she have to die?

"Don't you ever say that!" She hissed pulling herself away from him with the little strength she had left so she could at him straight in the eye. "Inuyasha, promise me… promise me you will not do something foolish."

"I promise, yet what may seem foolish for you isn't necessarily foolish for me," he replied calmly. He did it on purpose. Her eyes widened scared, he felt her tremble in his arms. He regretted upsetting her. "I'm sorry," he apologized while leaning forward to kiss her.

"Please Inuyasha; I need you to live… I need you to live and do all the wonderful things that you are destined to do." She begged.

"I promise," he said honorably while he moved her and returned her to her rightful place in his arms.

"You will find an amazing woman who will give you beautiful and smart children… You will travel a lot, and you will take her to those places I showed you in my albums. And then you will discover the cure to cancer…"

"Could I win the lottery as well?" He asked interested. She giggled. She patted him playfully in his chest. "I mean, if my life will be so awesome… what's more awesome than winning the lottery?"

"Yes Inuyasha you will win the lottery. And you will invest it."

"Hey!" He whined. "I really wanted a Ferrari". She giggled.

"I'll make sure you get a Ferrari." He pulled her close so she could see him. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"You'll play your influences up there for my Ferrari?" He mumbled as he leaned closer to her face. He gave her a playful peck on the lips.

"Anything for the Ferrari," She said as she closed the space between them. Before their lips could meet again, the machines went mad.

She started convulsing in his arms. He rose quickly, screaming for nurses and doctors on call. Yet he could not let her go. He could not take her out of his arms. He noticed Sango's hand pulling his so she could take a better look at Kagome.

"Dr. Takahashi! Snap out of it!" Miroku pulled Kagome out of his arms. One of the male nurses restrained him from going any near to Kagome. Everyone knew if he did, he would do something foolish, something foolish like ignore the DNR form in the chart, or something foolish like ignoring Kagome's wishes to not be resuscitated.

His ears frantically moved to catch any sound coming from her body. He heard a heart beat which calmed his own, but then he heard something that froze his blood.

Silence.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Inuyasha and unless I magically win the lottery I doubt I'll ever will.

**AN:** I suppose this chap will need a bit of explanation. The story will be short; it will tell the whole how he met her, how they fell in love and how they arrived to chap 1 and then after. So, I'll try to keep it simple, clean and short because if I don't, you'll loose interest and so will I.

**A/N:** Beta: **Little R.**

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die_

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 2**

_When I am dead, my dearest,_

_Sing no sad songs for me;_

_Plat thou no roses at my head,_

_Nor shady cypress tree._

**Cristina Rossetti**

* * *

**TWO MONTHS AGO.**

There was a knock on his door, just when he was about to leave for lunch. He almost cursed.

"Come in!"

As door opened slowly, a slender, raven haired woman entered. He noticed immediately the long legs, the hesitant smile, and the deep, blue eyes; he had never seen that shade before. Her hair could have easily reached her waist, but its wavy features kept it just below her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I had an appointment," he apologized as he put his white lab-coat back on and sat behind his desk. He gave a glance at his computer's screen, waiting for a notification of his schedule to appear, or to hear the phone ringing because his receptionist had forgotten to tell him.

"You didn't," the raven haired woman said with a smile, "I managed to get a look at your schedule and I knew you had thirty minutes to hear me out." She didn't wait for a reply, she took his silence as an agreement and she sat in front of him. He frowned while he considered her words.

"This is Miroku's doing isn't it?" He asked smirking widely. She blinked a couple of times.

"No Dr. Takahashi, I don't know Miroku-"

"I mean don't take it as an offense, you are gorgeous and all; but he has to understand that I don't date because I don't want to," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I'm sure he has other friends who would suit you better for a life surrounded children and a white fence."

"I didn't come here for a blind date," she managed to say while repressing a giggle.

"Then-"

"Dr. Takahashi, I believe I may have cancer and I would like you to be my doctor," she explained trying to save him from further embarrassment. His eyes opened wide in surprise and he coughed uncomfortably.

"Have you been diagnosed?" He asked with his 'doctor' voice. She gave him a full grin.

"No, it's more of a self-diagnose really…" she admitted somewhat sheepishly. He stopped the urge to roll his eyes. _Another hypochondriac._

"Well, normally the procedure is to have a general doctor revise your symptoms and if he suspects a tumor may be involved then he would refer you to an oncologist," he explained slowly knowing that, sometimes, patients weren't ready to know if they were healthy or not.

* * *

Three days later he still didn't know how she had managed to step out of protocol and convince him to make her diagnosis –_his_ _official_ diagnosis, as she called it.

"Why are you so ready to be sick?" He asked while he did the physical exam.

"I'm not," she replied shortly while staring at the white wall behind him. He knew physicals could be awkward for the patients when the attending was a doctor of the opposite sex. Yet, she had been very strict when she said she only wanted him to treat her. He still wondered if this wasn't a bad joke from Miroku.

"My mom died of cancer when I was two," she said suddenly. He turned to see her emotionless face.

"You lied," he muttered softly while he continued to touch her abdomen looking for anomalies. "When I asked you about your family's medical history, you didn't mention your mother had died of cancer."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Have any other of your relatives died of cancer, besides your mother?"

She shook her head.

"Did you know what type of cancer she had?"

"I can look through her papers..." she offered. She noticed then he was no longer paying attention to her. She saw that he lingered on one of her breasts. So he had found it. "I thought it would take you a bit more to find it." She scoffed.

"We are going to do an X-Ray," he told the nurse present while signing a form. He helped to close Kagome's robe and then he looked at her straight in the eye. "When did you first notice the bump in your breast?"

"Three weeks ago," she replied serenely.

"You are not on remission are you?" He asked suspiciously.

"No," She answered curtly.

"Have you taken any X-Rays…?"

"I already told you I haven't."

"You also forgot to mention your mother died of cancer. Was it breast cancer?"

"No, brain cancer,"

"You said you didn't remember."

"I said I would look into her papers!" She finally yelled. "God! Could you be more exasperating?!" She hissed as she rubbed her scalp; it was hurting badly.

"You are the one who barged into my office as if you were walking into the supermarket! You are the one who keeps medical information from me! Did you know I could sue you?"

"You can't," she muttered annoyed while glaring at him.

"Oh yes I can!" He said victoriously. Or at least he tried to look victorious to reinforce his white lie.

"I went to law-school you idiot," she said while rolling her eyes. "Now, I could sue you for misinforming me." She added with a mug smirk. He glared at her. "Look," she tried to start calmly. _Darn! The headache just won't go away_. She tried to continue what she started but she couldn't. The last she remembered was Dr. Takahashi's eyes looking at her worried and nurses coming inside the room before she blacked out.

"Miss Higurashi!"

She heard the music. It was as if it came from her fingers. She had stopped playing a few months ago. Maybe, before she left this world, and she would be united with her loved ones, she would be able to hold him –her beloved instrument- one last time. She had to wake up.

"Miss Higurashi!"

"Miss Higurashi!"

She opened her eyes, feeling as if she had been hit by a truck. She could not focus her sight. She felt disoriented, yet she was comfortable.

"Pass me the flashlight!"

She saw a bright light. _God, please not the tunnel! Not yet!_ She closed her eyes.

"She's responding!"

"Miss Higurashi!" That voice. She knew that voice. She was annoyed by that voice a few seconds ago. "Can you hear me?" The voice asked. She nodded or at least she asked her body to do so but lately he hadn't been very cooperative.

"Miss Higurashi, can you move?"

She tried and, apparently, she succeeded.

"No cervical damage."

"Help me get her in bed." _Now that was one she hadn't heard often enough. _

"She's giggling?" The annoying voice asked. "Crazy for sure." He muttered for himself. That's when she noticed how close she felt the voice. _Dr. Takahashi, he was there before, wasn't he? _She then understood where she was. She was in his lap. She opened her azure eyes. She met his golden eyes and then…

"Puppy!" She squealed barely audible. He for sure had heard her. Yet he didn't have enough time to protect his furry appendages. Her hands had taken them hostages and Dr. Takahashi couldn't do anything to object. He could only purr.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Inuyasha and, unless I magically win the lottery, I doubt I'll ever will.

**A/N: **Beta:** Little R**

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die_

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 3**

_Death is not the end  
Death can never be the end._

_Death is the road.  
Life is the traveler.  
The Soul is the Guide_

_Our mind thinks of death.  
Our heart thinks of life  
Our soul thinks of Immortality._

**- Sri Chinmoy**

He went inside of the playroom, following the beautiful sounds of a piano he had heard from outside. He had been doing his rounds in the Pediatric ward. Music was such a foreign sound in the hallways of the hospital; the playroom had several instruments for the children, but they hardly used them, yet the piano was being played so flawlessly. He could not believe it could be a child behind the instrument. Inuyasha's eyes widened as he recognized the scent of the pianist.

"What is she doing?" He wondered out loud. Kagome sat behind the piano, wearing her lavender robe over the hospital's gown. Her back was turned to him; her hair, no longer tight in a bun, was waving slightly with the movement of her thorax.

Sango was standing by the door. Her gaze lost while she admired the sounds and the joyful expressions of the children near the vertical piano. She leaned toward Inuyasha, not taking her eyes away from the scene.

"She's been coming here every day since she was admitted."

"Why?"

"Her words were: 'I need to see this from a child's eyes.' My opinion is that finally she understood what you told her," she said with a sad smile. "Shippo showed her the piano after she told him she used to play."

"She didn't tell me she did," Inuyasha muttered, annoyed.

"I believe she's not used to talking about herself," Sango conceded.

Kagome's fingers moved with grace over the keyboard while Shippo sat besides her amazed by his companion's skills. She stopped suddenly and the room was filled with cheerful applauses and petitions of another song. Inuyasha finally saw the sick woman's big smile. She stood up with certain difficulty and Sango rushed in her aid.

Kagome's eyes widened when she noticed her doctor's presence. She muttered a short greeting.

"You found Inu! He's your doctor too!?" Shippo squealed excitedly as he grabbed her free hand. She nodded while she smiled. "You're gonna fix her like me, aren't you Inu?" Shippo stared at Inuyasha with his big green eyes filled with hope and anticipation. Inuyasha turned to see Kagome's azure eyes –not so bright as they used to be- drenched in acceptation.

"I'm going to try, kid," he said with a smile. "Now, I have to take Kagome with me. She must be tired," he said as he offered his hand to her. Shippo hesitantly gave Kagome's hand to Inuyasha. Inuyasha took it while he gave Shippo a grin. "Don't worry, kid; I'll giver her back to you." Shippo grinned and left after giving Kagome a brief hug.

Inuyasha then noticed he still held her hand and she was giving him a small smile.

"Inu?" She questioned as she walked outside the playroom, her hand still in his. He blushed.

"My name's Inuyasha. They have problems pronouncing 'Takahashi'," he explained as they walked hand in hand through the corridors. Some nurses gave them knowing glances and others whispered between each other.

"It's for the kids."

Kagome chuckled. "I like it," she decided after they got together in the elevator.

"I thought you were a lawyer," he began. She giggled. He could get used to her giggles, and how her eyes twinkled with child-like innocence…

"You tend to misunderstand everything I say," she added with a grin. Her eyes twinkled, giving him butterflies. He knew he was blushing again. He wasn't supposed to blush. He was a well-known doctor and it was unprofessional. "I went to law school in a way," she continued giving him a glance, hesitating. "I went there to visit the campus," she grinned anticipating his response. He turned quickly, his eyes wide in shock. "Dad always said they had a beautiful botanic collection".

"You, You little-"

"Oh, Inuyasha! You were lying then too! It was only fair for me to return the favor." She giggled again as he recovered from his shock. "I was a pianist."

"You were?"

"I just discovered the playroom's piano. I haven't been playing for at least two months."

"So when you said you couldn't focus on your work because of the headaches you talked about concerts," he concluded. She nodded.

"I have told you I've been having problems too feeling cramps in my hands, they tremble sometimes. It's not fair! I try performing at concerts and I'm not able to give people what they came to hear."

"You didn't sound imprecise back there," he confessed. They entered to her room. He helped her get comfortable in bed. He connected some of the machines. He checked her chart and scribbled something.

"I have good days and bad days. I'm lucky the kids aren't judgmental. All it takes is to do the farmer's song and they think I beat Beethoven," she muttered. She felt uncomfortable when he didn't meet her eyes. He was hidden behind the charts. "Good news?" She asked after some minutes of awkward silence.

"I got some of the results," he mumbled without meeting her eyes.

"And?" he noticed the anxious tone. He met her eyes and gave her an encouraging smile.

"You are going to have to put up with me for a bit longer," he said without really announcing the bad omen in the charts. He wasn't ready to give up just yet. He didn't want to give up on her.

"I'm starting to believe I'm not sick at all. And this is your attempt of kidnapping me until you get the courage to ask me on a date…" She announced with a sly grin. He blushed again. She giggled.

"So you were in a band?" He asked after making sure he was no longer blushing. She raised an eyebrow, confused. He was momentarily distraught, wondering how she could raise both of her eyebrows independently yet both equally graceful. He shook his thoughts away. "Where did you play?"

"You had an invitation on your mail a month ago for the Clair Foundation's, didn't you?" She asked out of the blue. Now it was his time to be confused.

"How did you know?"

"Just a lucky guess."

He didn't dare to ask further about her job because he knew she wouldn't tell him anything less cryptic than her previous question. They stayed in each others company until a nurse came looking for Inuyasha. Kagome let him go after he promised to come back soon. She stayed alone in the room, meditating.

"That was quite a show," Sango told her as she went inside of the room. Kagome smiled gratefully.

"It's easy with the kids," she complied.

"I think all nurses would agree with me that keeping them that entertained for so much time is almost a miracle," both women giggled. Sango approached to one of the machines to change the drugs. "Has Dr. Takahashi told you about the procedure yet?"

"No," Kagome said with a hesitant smile. "I didn't let him."

"You're a very peculiar person," Sango said as she checked the dose. Kagome looked at her, confused. "You came here on a hunch, you got the best doctor in the city to do lab work, yet you don't want to hear the results nor accept the treatments."

"It's not that I don't want the treatments," Kagome started slowly as she figured out how to explain herself. "I just don't want to be a lab-rat". At Sango's incredulous stare, she continued. "I told Inuya- err, Dr. Takahashi that I wanted him to give me a final diagnosis, something definitive. I don't want to receive medicine just in case."

Sango didn't understand.

"Are you sure it was only a hunch?" Sango asked after some minutes of silence. "Are you sure you don't know your own diagnosis?" She wondered. "I mean maybe you came here to see if Inuyasha could find something different from a previous doctor?"

Kagome shook her head.

"This is the first time I've been to a hospital in a long time," Kagome muttered. Sango bit her tongue. She knew it wasn't her place to pester patients with curious questions.

* * *

Finally after finishing his rounds and visiting Kagome shortly –she had been sleeping-, Inuyasha went to his office to pick some files he needed to revise. When he sat behind his desk he remembered the odd conversation with the pianist.

He looked trough his drawers and found the Clair Foundation's invitation. It was one of the most important events of the year. Something nagged him in the back of the head. Normally the whole event based in a grand concert in the City's Music Hall. Usually they brought foreign talents, prodigies, musical genius, normally they were old and experienced… unless their talent was unearthly.

_It couldn't be…_

He read the invitation quickly. It was always the same for these things. _Dr. Takahashi we are pleased to … _yadda yadda yadda. Where was the program? He passed the first golden page and found nothing. He looked again into the envelope and found a small triptych. He read through the foreign names and found what he had been looking for… the only pianist in the whole orchestra.

Miss Kagome Higurashi.


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Inuyasha and, unless I magically win the lottery, I doubt I'll ever will.

A/N: I really recommend reading the poem before the chapter. I found it very beautiful in its own way.

The song is "_Throw me a rope_" from **KT Tunstall (Obviously I don't own it!).** It's a very beautiful song from a very talented writer. An hour of hearing it repeating itself over and over again and a chapter was made.

**A/N:** Beta: **Little R**

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die_

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 4**

_Remember me when I am gone away,_

_Gone far away into the silent land;_

_When you can no more hold me by the hand,_

_Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay._

_Remember me when no more day by day_

_You tell me of our future that you planned:_

_Only remember me; you understand_

_It will be late to counsel then or pray._

_Yet if you should forget me for a while_

_And afterwards remember, do not grieve:_

_For if the darkness and corruption leave_

_A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,_

_Better by far you should forget and smile_

_Than that you should remember and be sad._

**Cristina Rossetti**

* * *

Hesitant in Inuyasha's regard, Kagome took the guitar and let her fingers strum the cords while she tightened them to get the right sound.

"So you are some kind of prodigy?" He asked, amused.

They were on the Hospital's rooftop. He had seen her fade away the last couple of days with the increasing number of tests and authorization forms to sign. She had grown quiet, never sharing with him more than a few necessary words. He knew she wasn't mad at him. Yet, he hadn't realized how much he depended on their daily spats and her quick remarks.

As a doctor he was worried as well. Depression was never a good sign.

She smiled without looking at him.

"My dad taught me the guitar," she explained. "I'm not even half as good as he was". She strummed slowly the guitar before picking up a rhythm. She was sitting in the pliable chair he had brought with them. He sat at her feet, satisfied with his location because it allowed him to admire her without being obvious.

He felt her humming some unnamed melody. Her eyes connected with his behind her bangs. He felt his heart skip a beat, his face turn warm and his stomach fluttered. She smiled at him openly for the first time in the last couple of days.

"Thank you," she murmured as she resumed her song in the guitar.

"Keh!?" She giggled at his antics. "I just noticed you were a little blue."

"Isn't that a sign of cyanosis?" She asked with an amused grin. He grinned back.

"Smartass."

"My ass thanks the compliment," she threw back. He shook his head in defeat.

"Didn't you promise to repay me?" He asked after her laughter died. She remembered the promise she made him when she asked him to let her go outside. She told him she would do anything – she insisted in saying _anything_- if he would let her. She blushed softly. He smirked pleased. "I am an impatient man, you know?"

She laughed.

"If there's something I know about you, Inuyasha, is that you are anything but patient," she granted. She shivered in spite of her hat, jacket and scarf.

"Maybe we should get inside," he offered trying to stand up. She pushed him back. He fell on his ass and she laughed hysterically. "This is what I get for trying to be a gentleman". She giggled and brushed off the tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Didn't you want me to repay you?" She asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. He swallowed. She chuckled at his expression. "I'll sing you a song my mom made for my dad before they got married," she muttered, embarrassed and blushing as she avoided his eye.

"She was a musician too?"

"She played the piano, the guitar, the violin… _she _was a prodigy," she commented proudly. "She was going to be a grand violinist before she met my dad. They met, fell in love and got married. She left concerts and took a teaching position. I have her diaries; I don't think she ever regretted it. She loved my dad very much," Kagome sighed. "If she hadn't died, she would have taught me everything."

Inuyasha then felt guilty for all he had in his life. So many things he didn't cherish as he should. His parents were both alive and growing old together. He could count on his older, half-brother if he needed him, not that he ever would swallow his pride to ask him for help. He had a good job, he had great friends; Kagome no longer had anything.

"I just wonder sometimes how things would have been different if she had lived".

He couldn't bear to think that maybe she would be so far that he couldn't touch her. Or that maybe she would be in someone else's arms, with another man's children demanding her attention. Yet maybe then she would be happy, complete, and overall healthy.

They stayed in silence. She then took the guitar and resumed the tune she had been playing since they got to the rooftop.

"She wrote it to him while she was in New York on her last concert," she explained. "Then she came back and asked him to marry her". She smiled remembering the look in her father's eyes when he told the story. Then she opened her lips and the song left her lips naturally.

"_I want you between me and the feeling I get when I miss you,_

_But everything here is telling me I should be fine,_

_So why is it so, it bothers below that I'm missing you every time?_

_I got used to you whispering things to me into the evening,_

_We followed the sun, and its colors, and left this world,_

_It seems to me, that I'm defiantly hearing the best that I've ever heard._

Inuyasha sat near her his eyes never leaving her form, from her lips to her finger tips. He was amazed by her beauty and how the song seemed to take life with her sweet voice carrying it. She kept her eyes closed keeping her in the intimacy of her memories.

_  
So throw me a rope, to hold me in place,_

_Show me a clock, for counting my days, down,_

'_Cause everything's easier when you're beside me,_

_Come back and find me,_

'_Cause I feel alone._

_  
_She opened her eyes slowly, hesitating to continue. It was the first time since her father's death she dared to play the song. She had never showed it to anyone else. It was a family treasure meant only for the ears of those special enough. Inuyasha was special.

_  
And whenever you go it's like holding my breath under water,_

_I have to admit that I kind of like it when I do,_

_Oh but I've got to be, unconditionally,_

_Unafraid, of my days, without you,_

She believed love, real, mind blowing, life changing love only came to a few lucky people. Her parents included. She had never shared anything so precious as how she felt about him. It had taken her by surprise in her lowest emotional moment. She knew she was in love. She didn't need a dictionary or any other book to know it. She was sure of the sincerity in her feelings.

_  
So throw me a rope, to hold me in place,_

_Show me a clock, for counting my days, down,_

'_Cause everything's easier when you're beside me,_

_Come back and find me,_

That's why it hurt so badly to be near him now. She knew she didn't have much time. She shouldn't be doing this, making him love her in return to leave him alone in a couple of months. She wasn't worth his love. It was a selfish thing what she was doing. She was going to hurt him.

_  
Whenever I'm falling, you're always behind me,_

_Come back and find me,_

'_Cause everything's easier when you're beside me,_

_Come back and find me,_

'_Cause I feel alone". _

She felt tears collecting in her eyes. She felt pain in her chest, like she had never felt before. She shut her eyes. She didn't want him to see her like this. How would she explain him that she loved him and it was because of this love she had to push him away?

She felt his hand touching her. He was probably worried.

"Kagome?" He called. She opened her eyes when she collected herself.

"My mom had a better voice," she excused giving him a sheepish smile. He frowned confused.

"That was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard," he confessed honestly, trying to catch her eyes. She avoided looking into his amber eyes, afraid of finding love in them. She knew she would kiss him if he continued to say that type of things.

His pager started beeping. She sighed relieved. He checked what it was and gave her a confused glance.

"I have to go," He stood up quickly and gracefully. He took her hand in his and helped her up. He placed the guitar in its case and shoved it under his shoulder as he didn't want to let her carry anything, nor did he want to let go of her hand.

* * *

He had tried soothing her with small caresses in her arms. He felt her rigid under his touch. He knew she was scared. He had assured her it wouldn't hurt; she would only feel the pressure. He joked around telling her he was quite an experienced man, many would be jealous to be in her position.

She just told him one thing before he proceeded. "I trust you". His heart warmed at her confidence. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze before letting himself out of her grasp. He took the anesthesia and injected her quickly. He kept his mind blank trying to forget his feelings for the girl before him. He noticed her wince slightly; he didn't need to see her to know she was biting her lower lip, nervously. He handled the residues to Sango who exited the room, leaving them alone.

"Step one, done". He heard her mutter.

"See? I told you I was experienced," he said smugly. He walked to the other side of her bed to check on her while the anesthesia took effect. Her eyes were shut. He took her hand and she opened them slowly.

"How long does it take?" She asked her eyes drifting slowly.

"A few minutes," he answered while tracing his fingers with his. He took the chair so he could sit near her. She was on her side looking at him intently.

"This is the last one?"

"This is the last test," he confirmed. His heart sank looking at her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered tiredly. She opened her azure orbs to stare at his golden ones with determination. They stayed for a couple of seconds studying the other, drinking all they could from each other's presence.

"Inuyasha…I don't know how you do it," she whispered while licking her lips. His eyes followed her tongue's path.

"Do what?" He whispered back. He hadn't realized how close they were. He took a deep breath taking in her sweet fresh scent. Even when it was mixed with all the chemicals it still made him feel calm.

"Make me feel this way," she confessed in a whisper so soft that it was only made for his ears. "Just one smile of yours and I feel so … complete," she continued whispering and ended with a sigh. He couldn't register anything else besides their bubble. He leaned closer to her until he felt her soft lips over his.

Their lips caressed themselves slowly, caringly, wanting to expand the satisfaction of their first encounter as much possible. They parted slowly only to take the air their lungs demanded before resuming the mission they were in. Her lips parted to allow his tongue in. A whole new world opened before him: the sweetest taste, the addictive feeling of belonging. He felt her moan beneath him. He hadn't realized he had started pushing her back.

Something in his mind clicked then. He was in her room - her _hospital_ room. He was her _doctor_. She was his patient to whom he was about to do a very delicate procedure; a patient who was under heavy narcotic influence. _Shit. _He pulled from her embrace harshly and quickly left the room, glancing back only once, taking in an image he would forever regret: Kagome with her lips, red from his ministrations, her hair, messy from his wandering hands, and her eyes, opened wide first in confusion, and then hurt.

_Shit. _


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Inuyasha and unless I magically win the lottery I doubt I'll ever will.

**A/N:** I probably won't be posting anything new until I finish the whole story, I've been thinking about making 3 to 4 more chapters but I might just cut it to 2. We'll see.

**A/N : **Beta:** Little R**

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die_

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 5**

_When death comes, like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,_

_I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:  
What is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?_

_When it's over, I don't want to wonder  
if I have made of my life something particular, and real._

_I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument._

_I don't want to end up simply having visited this world_

**Mary Oliver**

* * *

He had been avoiding her. He hadn't even tried to deny it when Sango confronted him. She tried explaining him that Kagome was very depressed, that she was scared, and that she had even threatened to leave the hospital if he didn't come. He didn't. He doubled the security and he knew she couldn't leave unless he released her. Miroku had made finally the test she almost missed because their little moment. Inuyasha asked his colleague to inform him about the results.

He also doubled his guards in the pediatric ward. That alone kept him from going near her by accident.

He had been signing a couple of charts the nurses left for him. He saw Sango running, which caught his attention. His heart sank as he heard what she yelled another nurse.

"It's Higurashi! Code blue!"

He felt his blood boil and he could not believe the strength, agility, and grace he used as he moved through the long corridors to get to her side. He opened the door; not bothering to wonder why it was closed if there was a code blue, and why people weren't running in and out of the room. And there she was, calmly reading the newspaper. She looked up at him, blinking a couple of time to make sure he wasn't a vision. A product of her desire to see him.

He stood in silence for half a second.

"Hey there!" She greeted cheerfully, giving him a huge grin that in any other circumstance would have made his heart skip a beat. "It's been a while since I last saw your furry ears!"

"Y- You,"

"I- I," she repeated with the same wide grin. Was she _mocking_ him? "I suppose Sango gave you my message?" That did it.

"You crazy, little wench!"

It all started with a crazy, little wench. He started cursing and she took her time, moving slowly. He didn't even notice; he was too absorbed ranting about how she could manipulate the staff, the laws she had broken… She walked hesitantly with the IV machine following her silently as she pulled it. She touched his arm to calm him down. He stopped to glare at her, knowing she hadn't heard a word he had said.

"Are you done?" She asked, the grin slightly diminished, but the glitter in her eyes still present. He took in her sweet scent, assuring himself she was as healthy as she could be in her position. He nodded slowly. She leaned forward, barely touching his lips with hers. It took him less than a millisecond to react and take her in his arms. Her arms locked his neck.

Minutes later, they stood in the same place, foreheads touching. He leaned to touch her nose with his. She recovered the full grin.

"So, now that you got the milk for free, do you still want the cow?" She asked, her eyes twinkling in joy.

"There are so many things I can get from the cow," he replied as he gave her soft caress-like kisses in her cheeks, around her mouth and finally her nose. She giggled.

* * *

Kagome straightened her coat. Finally, after two days of being released, the hospital called back to give her the final results. She had been stable for a week, enough to convince the doctors (Dr. Miroku was now attending her as well) to let her out.

She had stayed at her comfortable loft since Inuyasha had busy rounds those days. It took a couple of hours to drive to her family's shrine. She checked the house to see if it was still standing and no burglars had managed to steal her family's memories. Kagome had gone to the attic to retrieve her mother's old medical files, as she had promised Inuyasha. She also took anything she thought could be useful for him. While in her old pink girlish bedroom she found old photo albums from her first musical, her first concert, her first tour. She smiled fondly as she recognized the places and the people. She took them with her.

Inuyasha was supposed to take her out to grab something to eat after the meeting. Neither of them wanted to call it a date. Kagome was determined to ask him if it was a date depending on the tests' results.

She walked into the now familiar ward. She greeted some of the nurses on call and gave Sango a box of home-made cookies. After an exchange of pleasantries, Kagome knocked on Inuyasha's office.

"Come in!" She heard the hanyou say. She went inside to find a serious atmosphere. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to hear about her imminent doom. Miroku was there already.

"Hi," she muttered and sat across from Inuyasha like she had done almost two weeks ago. He didn't meet her eyes. Things were getting worse as the seconds passed by. "I suppose there is not good news for me today".

"Miss Higurashi," Miroku began. She noticed Inuyasha had yet to meet her eyes or make any other sign to indicate he was present in the room. "We confirmed you have breast cancer," he started. He took a second to study her facial expressions. She didn't do anything but waited for him to tell her that "This is not all, after we noticed all of your other symptoms… we suspected that there might be something else involved and there is".

"I don't mean to be rude but could you tell me what I have without extending?" She asked softly, looking at her hands in her lap.

"You have more than one type of cancer. We have found another in your brain. We didn't notice at first because all of your signs were not those of a person with a brain tumor in that state. Usually it doesn't develop as fast as yours."

Kagome's eyes remained fixed on her hands.

"Since it's rare for a person of your age and habits who has not been exposed to any cancer-inducing substance… and since your mother died of cancer at a young age, we have discussed you might have the Li-Fraumeni syndrome. We have yet to make the DNA confirmation, but it's the best diagnose we have."

"We believe radiotherapy should be applied as soon as possible to try minimizing the tumors. We have determined we could extirpate the cancer on your breast with surgery, yet we can't assure you it can be all taken with one surgery since it's a malignant tumor. If you want you could be admitted today or tomorrow. We have everything ready for you. After we see how radiotherapy is working…"

She stopped listing when she understood what he was trying to tell her. She compared Miroku –who looked so willing to give her courage and being optimistic- and Inuyasha –who shrank in fear in his seat.

"How long do I have if I don't get the surgery?" She heard herself asking.

Miroku stopped obviously not prepared for her to interrupt him so quickly. It usually took more than a few minutes for patients in her state to understand what he was trying to say.

"You have to understand, Miss Higurashi, that you have a very rare type of cancer. Usually, breast cancer patients do not reach the stage you have-"

"Miroku. Please, I'm asking you how much time I have, not about what usually happens". Miroku looked finally out of words. "I think we've already determined the usual isn't happening here".

"A month," Inuyasha answered his voice coming out rough and strange to Kagome's ears. "We could buy a couple of weeks with radiotherapy; there are a couple of experimental trials-".

"Is surgery an option for the brain tumor?" She asked softly.

"Not yet," Miroku replied.

"How long would I have to be under radiotherapy so it would be operable?"

"It depends on how you react to the treatment".

"Worst case scenario?"

"Worst case scenario… it doesn't work," Miroku answered hesitantly. "If it does react to the minimum, then a month would be enough for us to take it out".

"I don't have any other tumors?"

"Not that we know of," Miroku replied honestly. However they all knew this could change any day.

Kagome stood up abruptly, tightening her coat to her small frame. "I'll come back tomorrow to start the radiotherapy". She remembered the papers she had brought with her. "I brought my mother's medical files". She placed them in the desk. Without looking at Inuyasha, she gave a forced smile before she left the room.

* * *

She went to the first place she could think of. The place where everybody she had loved now lay. Kagome walked into the cemetery, careful not to trip. It had begun raining and she carried with her different bouquets of flowers. She reached the familiar corner, and placed her handbag on the ground. She took the first bouquet to the oldest grave: a bouquet of orchids for her mother. The second one, a bouquet of lavender for her father, was because he often said the scent of lavender brought back memories of her mother. The last one was a single sunflower adorned with wild herbs, since her grandfather had died before he had accomplished his dream of seeing her perform in an Italian theater; just like her mother.

She didn't shed even one tear. She stood in silence for a couple of minutes, out of respect, as the rain fell lazily over her.

"I guess you must have heard already… I'm dying. I'm not sure I'll make it. The doctors… they are going to try to buy me a couple of months but … I don't know.

I met a wonderful man. One who makes me smile, even when he's not around. His name is Inuyasha and I think you all would have liked him. He's very caring, in his own way, he doesn't like to show weakness around people, but he has the most beautiful heart I'd ever seen. I don't know why God sent him to me now… maybe it's a test. Isn't that what you always said Grandpa?"

She smiled as she imagined her favorite old man repeating himself: _Child! Everything is a test! _

"I don't know how, I don't know when… but I think I've fallen in love with him. But it's selfish to keep him while my time on Earth is limited, isn't it daddy?

"He should be with someone who can promise him a future".

She remembered the sadness that appeared in her father's eyes whenever someone mentioned her mother. Kagome knew it was only because of her he woke up and went to work everyday. If Inuyasha and she were together, she would leave him alone, broken. What kind of person would she be if she did that, now that she had a choice?

She imagined her mother; her always sweet mother, who took her in her arms so many times, yet Kagome remembered none. And her father, the caring man who had dried every one of her tears in her youth, who had heard every cry, every anecdote, every question. A sob she didn't know she was holding escaped her. And suddenly, the world came crashing on her shoulders.

"Mom, dad... I don't want to die! Not yet! It's too soon!" She sobbed while she crumbled in the wet grass.

* * *

Inuyasha read the paper one last time for reassurance. He had been standing in front of her door for ten minutes now and he knew that if he didn't ring the bell, a neighbor would for sure call the police. He knocked on the door quickly. His ears picked up someone moving inside, tiredly reaching the door.

"Who is it?" Kagome's lazy voice called from behind the door.

"It's me". He replied. "Inuyasha".

The door opened quickly to reveal a tired looking Kagome. Her hair was wet, she wore a pair of pants and a sweater, both three sizes bigger than what she was. Her azure eyes looked at him confused.

"How did you get here?"

"I… I hope you're not mad. I asked Sango to get me your address. I shouldn't be taking it if it wasn't hospital business, but I really wanted to come to check on you. Not that you need to be checked on. It's just that I told you I would take you to dinner today and you didn't stay. I tried calling you but you didn't pick up-" Her hand shut his mouth. She gave him a smile and pulled him from his suit inside of her loft.

She took her hand off his mouth and continued to walk inside. They both entered the kitchen before he spoke again.

"How are you?" He asked, concerned. She gave him a look.

"I'm as fine as you can be after you've been told you are going to die". She said with a grin that said otherwise.

"There are still-" She shut him up again, this time with her mouth. He didn't have time to react before she pulled away.

"One day at the time," she said. "Today's biggest problem is that I don't remember the telephone to the Italian take-out around the corner…" She looked inside of a drawer to make her point. He looked at her in awe.

"Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"I think I love you".


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Inuyasha and unless I magically win the lottery I doubt I'll ever will.

_If there is one thing we can be certain of in life, it's that eventually we will die_

* * *

**DEATH**

**By: Anne 79**

**Chapter 6**

_I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glint on snow.  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn rain. _

_When you wake in the morning hush,  
I am the swift, uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circling flight.  
I am the soft starlight at night._

_Do not stand at my grave and weep.  
I am not there, I do not sleep.  
Do not stand at my grave and cry.  
I am not there, I did not die!_

**Mary Frye**

* * *

Silence.

One second.

It was incredible to know you should be hearing so many things: the nurses whispering, ordering you to stay calm, the orders from the other doctors continuing the protocol, people walking in and out of the room, machines being rolled trough the small room, and to hear none of it.

He had studied for decades the human and demon anatomy. He knew how the thorax was supposed to move with a kind of rhythm as air went inside the lungs; yet there he was, so immersed in the lack of movement from her thoracic cavity as if it had been the first time he had seen it stop working. As if he hadn't lost a patient before.

He knew perfectly what the circulation of every artery and every vein was supposed to do and even the exceptions and alterations to look for. He also knew her usually warm hands would now be getting cold. But worst of all, of the things he could see changing in Kagome at the moment, was the only thing in the whole room he could hear –correct that- what he couldn't hear. Her heart had stopped beating. The heart that had lulled him to sleep for the last couple of weeks lay now unmoving in her dying corpse. The sound he only paid attention to when he was examining her or when he kissed her would be heard no more. It would never accelerate with his presence again and he would never pretend to ignore it so Kagome wouldn't feel embarrassed.

He blinked. He became conscious of his own shallow breathing, of his uneven heart beat, of the knot down his throat. His previously contracted arms relaxed in defeat. The male nurses loosened their hold. Fearing what he would do with his hands he put them inside of his lab-coat's pockets. His fingers played with his pen in one pocket and he noticed something in the other one.

He had forgotten the envelope that morning because of Kagome: the Li-Fraumeni results. It was probably not useful now, but he took them out anyways. He read quickly what it said. The words probably took a longer route in his brain because he had to blink several times before he understood its meaning.

One second.

It took him less than a second to rush to her side. Those meant to restrain him reacted but too late. He took the paddles and they were ready. He barely had the time to say clear before he shocked her.

Then in another second the sound of the room came back to his demonic ears.

"INUYASHA!" Miroku shouted. Dr. Miroku –his friend- ran to his side not to aid him but to stop him. The black haired doctor should have known he was no match for Inuyasha. With one shake of his body he pushed Miroku away making him stumble and fall to the floor.

"Sango turn on the other machines!" Inuyasha ordered with a voice that was not meant to be defied and Sango -in shock- obeyed. He needed the monitor to confirm the heart beat. He was afraid he would start hallucinating and start hearing things that weren't there. The screen turned on and he saw the flat line in fear. He shocked her again. Nothing.

"Inuyasha stop this instant! She's a DNR!" Miroku cried from the floor as some of the nurses tried to help him get up. Nobody else dared to go near Inuyasha.

"It's not Li-Fraumeni!" He yelled. He took another unsuccessful shot.

"I said- What?"

"Now help me revive her so we can get another shot curing her!" Inuyasha roared. Miroku finally took his place assisting him. After a couple of seconds, they had a stable beating. They confirmed no brain-damage because of the convulsion. Her vitals were all stable. Inuyasha gave the paddles to one of the nurses who had tried restraining him. Most people still didn't know what to do.

He dropped tiredly in the chair next to her bed. He heard Sango ordering out all of the viewers.

"Your brother is going to kill you," Miroku announced. Inuyasha leaned his head over the palm of his hands. "Or maybe not. He'll let the lawyers take all of your money. He'll take away your title and then, you'll ask him to kill you," he continued dryly.

"Miroku?" Sango called with a sweet tone. Inuyasha knew better. Miroku didn't.. The perverted doctor turned with a dashing smile. "Shut up." She closed the door and checked over the machines.

"Where are the DNR forms? She only signed them today… didn't she?" Inuyasha asked after some seconds of silence, looking up to Sango. She nodded.

"They are in the…" she considered for a minute before widening her eyes in realization."I haven't filed it yet!"

"So you'll help him with the fraud?" Miroku asked shocked. Sango rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Am I the only one here thinking about the consequences?"

"I don't want her to die," Sango replied glaring at the black haired physician.

"Great! I'm sure there are other stage 4 cancer patients waiting down the hall who have explicit DNR forms in their charts! Have your paddles ready people!"

"Miroku you know this is different," Inuyasha tried to reason.

"It's different because it's Kagome. Because she's _your_ Kagome," Miroku said. "I get it man, I do-"

"It's different because we were wrong," Inuyasha interrupted. "It's not Li-Fraumeni which means she could still have more time-"

"I understand you don't want to let go but you have to consider what this career has taught you," Miroku said. "Even if it's not Li-Fraumeni she's already on stage 4, we already extracted two possible tumors… we might have managed to diminish the size of the brain tumor but the thing is her prospect doesn't look good Inuyasha," Miroku said softly.

"It responded well to radiotherapy," Inuyasha countered. "Most acute pathologies can be cured if they're treated aggressively enough".

"Inuyasha…"

"She had… has surgery scheduled for tomorrow," Sango intervened. "Should I cancel?" Both doctors stared at each other unsure of what to do. Miroku sighed.

"No," the black haired doctor responded. "We're doing the final extraction of her breast cancer." Frustrated he scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know if Sesshomaru will allow us to after he hears about this".

"I'll deal with Sesshomaru," Inuyasha offered.

"I didn't expect anything less," Miroku muttered with half a grin. "You deserve to be the first one decapitated".

* * *

"You violated a DNR!"

"The DNR was never filed nobody knows!"

"The patient knows you stupid, self-centered, moronic, arrogant asshole!"

"She's in an induced coma! She won't say a thing!"

"And you induced a coma? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Yelling with Sesshomaru might have been a fun sport for the last couple of decades but it was not going to help Kagome. He had to be calm. Wasn't that what his mother always said? He needed to be the bigger man.

"Sesshomaru you have to understand. I can cure her," Inuyasha started after a long breath. He licked his lips nervously. _Be cool. Be cool. Be cool. _He chanted in his head.

"If you can cure her, then why didn't you do so when she was awake? _Before_ you violated a DNR?" His brother hissed behind his mahogany desk. Inuyasha knew he was in deep shit because Sesshomaru looked as if steam was coming out of his ears. Sesshomaru never showed emotion, he was a stoic statue who would use the same voice to congratulate someone for their first born and to tell them they were fired. He did not get angry. He left sarcastic remarks, subtle –and not so subtle- insults and made _you_ angry.

_Be cool. Be cool. Be cool._

"Because I don't know how. I just need time to study her case. I know there's a-"

"You must have been playing with your chemicals again for you sound ridiculous," The demon said dryly, glaring at his half-brother.

_Be cool. Be cool. Be cool. _

"Sesshomaru, please." Inuyasha pleaded.

"This is no simple thing you are asking of me Inuyasha," the full demon answered curtly. "This is not like when we were children and you wanted me to hide you to avoid confronting father. This is a woman's life you are toying with," he paused and stared at his half brother.

"Just give me three days and then you can have my resignation". Inuyasha offered. He knew this would be the only way he would get his shot. He didn't know if three days would be enough but he had to try one last time.

"You have three days. Then we are taking her out of the coma and if it is her desire you will confront the consequences of your actions".

He left the office quickly before Sesshomaru pressed any legal matters. Inuyasha had no time to loose. Sesshomaru stayed in his office staring at the papers in front of him for several minutes without really reading them. His head was full with what had just happened. He knew now that if the girl woke up, he would be implied as well. He growled in frustration.

"Dr. Takahashi?" A shy voice called from the door. Rin. He gave her a blank stare. The young secretary smiled brightly before telling him his two o'clock had just arrived. The girl closed the door leaving him her sweet scent. He sighed. He had to fire her. It wouldn't be good to start a relationship with his secretary.

* * *

Miroku and Sango tried talking to Inuyasha but he locked himself in his office. One medical career to the trash was enough. If Sesshomaru fired him, he had enough money to survive. His friends didn't.

He took out Kagome's medical history, her mother's and every other relative he could find. He brought from his home his old med-school books. Journals, newspapers, everything that held some information that could help him save her. He didn't drink any coffee for his motivation was bigger and stronger than caffeine. Love was the only thing he needed. He was going to cure her.

At first his whole research was made in chronological order, he read everything in Kagome's and her mother's medical history not underestimating any detail as little as it was. As time passed by his desperation grew by the minute. He had read all of the papers at least three times and he couldn't reach a different diagnosis. They all indicated the same.

The surgery had gone well under Miroku's surveillance. But it hadn't given any new information.

At the end of the first day he took Miroku's and Sango's help after they forced themselves in his office and convinced him they would tell Sesshomaru this was all his fault and they had been coerced into helping him.

They had moved the research to one of the conference rooms. Apparently Sesshomaru had grown a heart out of nowhere.

* * *

Inuyasha had gone back to his office to look for the final box. The one filled with photos of young Kagome, he had avoided looking much into it. He took out some of the albums her mother had made, then her father and finally those Kagome had elaborated alone while on tour. She had told him it was a healthy way to relax while she was in the hotel room. She was quite the photograph.

Then there was only one small notebook left. He opened it and remembered it was one of the journals Kagome's mom kept. He had seen the previous diaries and besides noticing some change in her calligraphy, all correspondent to brain cancer.

He was caught up in a photo she had pasted in the middle of the notebook. He now knew it was Kagome. After looking at all of her pictures he could perfectly recognize her out of whichever crowd.

The diary's entrance read:

_This is my baby, my first-born, my baby girl. We're naming her Kagome. She's got quite the temper yet when we lock eyes she becomes the sweetest being in the whole world. I've loved and waited for her for what seems like a century. I'd imagined her so many times, in so many ways. Yet when I first laid eyes on her she was like nothing I could have ever dreamed. She's better than what I expected. _

_Her eyes are gray; the doctor says the color could change. I've tried taking as many photos as I can so if they do I can show it to her when she'll grow up. She was born with hair. That I didn't expect, most babies I'd seen were completely bold or with a thin layer of hair. _

_Her skin was red when she was brought out of my womb and now its pearly white and soft like silk. I could spend my life caressing her tummy. She seems to like it, she giggles every time I do so. _

_Her father is completely head over heels. I think I lost him for good. The doctors gave her to him after they examined her. It wasn't until I woke up that he even considered letting someone else hold her.. She doesn't seem to mind though. I'll have to watch out; they might conspire against me in the future…_

Then she continued to describe her life with Kagome. Her entrances were at first frequent then with time they started to space between them. He could imagine how tiring it must have been for her taking care of Kagome with her disease knowing her days were counted.

He found himself sitting more comfortably as he passed the pages. There had to be something there.

_I write this last entrance for you my dear beloved daughter. My Kagome, my sunshine, my love. I do not wish to live longer for myself but for you. I wish I could be physically there to dry your tears and encourage your dreams. I will always be with you. You have given me more happiness in these two years than I've ever experienced in my whole lifetime. _

_I have written some advices for your father. Things men do not know but I know he will follow strictly to make us –you and me- happy. I have told him not to harass your boyfriends and to be patient when you want to shop. I have asked him to always be there to hear you, to make a strong bond with you. You are in good hands. He loves you deeply. One thing I've always admired of your father is the way he loves… he's unconditional and he gives all of himself fully._

_There are many things I would love to tell you. Some I might have written them already previously. I wanted to tell you a story…_

_Several years ago a woman named Tsubaki pursued your great grandfather. He refused to marry her because he was in love with who would become your great grandmother. Tsubaki cursed him. Apparently she was a dark miko, she casted a spell over your great grandfather, telling him no woman in his family would ever be able to enjoy love. Your great grandmother died in childbirth. His sister, a brave woman, died shortly after of unknown causes. After them, all female descendents died mysteriously young – some tragically, some peacefully in bed-, only the men survived._

_When I was born your grandfather didn't allow me to get in contact with the exterior. He has always been a bit superstitious. I can't really regret my upbringing. If I hadn't been homeschooled and learned my way with instruments I wouldn't have given the concert in which I met your father. I wouldn't have any of you. A life without you both is a life I would never want._

_I know I shouldn't believe in every story grandfather says but I can help to be afraid. Not for myself but for you Kagome. You probably know that you were named after your great grandfather's sister. She was a very beautiful woman, very talented and intelligent. She wrote several books and was known to be publically involved with humanitarian causes. _

_I would like for you to be like her. Not a writer or a volunteer, but passionate about whatever it is you love. Passion gives us meaning and makes every day different, better, special. You have the world at your disposal. _

_I want you not to be afraid of an old tale. I don't want you to act out of fear. I want you to be free and explore what the world has to offer you. _

_I should give you some wise advice yet I can only tell you: better to do and forget than not to and regret._

_I love you Kagome. _

It was indeed the last entrance of the diary.

* * *

"It's not cancer!" He yelled as he entered the conference room they had reserved to search on Kagome's case.

"What do you mean not cancer?" Sango mumbled while her eyes opened and closed exhausted.

"Of course it's cancer!" Miroku yelled back annoyed. "Tumor-cells were found everywhere Inuyasha. We confirmed it with all the lab work that has ever existed."

"She has cancer but it's no cancer what's killing her!" Inuyasha yelled again excitedly. He brought a pair of X-Rays and placed them against the light in the room.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" Miroku said tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"Aneurism," Inuyasha muttered, his attention absorbing the image before him. Miroku's eyes widened when he compared both images and found what Inuyasha talked about. "The seizure she had could not be explained by the brain cancer".

"But how?"

"A black miko cursed her family," Inuyasha explained. "Curses caused by mikos are usually associated with aneurisms, cancer, heart diseases…"

"How do you know all of this?"

"He read her mother's journal," Sango answered now fully awake.

"It was all in there. All we needed. Kagome's mom gave us her symptoms unknowingly. Her calligraphy changed drastically in a year. It helped me figure out where to look. Kagome was the same but we didn't notice because she never wrote anything, she only talked about her trembling hands and not being able to play the piano as quickly as before," Inuyasha explained quickly.

"We've been treating her with all we've got. If we beat the cancer, which I suppose should diminish after she's purified by a white miko or a priest, then it would only be the aneurism, which looks operable. Now we need to find a miko and she will be alright," Miroku diagnosed while revising the papers on the table.

_She will be alright. _

The words finally sank in Inuyasha's head. He felt his exhausted body for the first time in days. He felt a huge weight lifting from his shoulders and for the very first time since Kagome had been in her induced coma, he smiled. His eyes watered quickly and he felt Sango holding him as he cried in joy.

"She's going to live…" he muttered over and over.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait. I wrote this about two months ago but I've been busy with finals and well... stuff. I have a sketch of chapter 7. I'll try to be quick.

Thanks to **Little R**! My beta for the chap!


End file.
